


Fragmented Sunlight

by clearpurity2



Category: Senki Zesshou Symphogear
Genre: Gen, I question myself on how writing works sometimes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-10-09 23:30:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20518250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clearpurity2/pseuds/clearpurity2
Summary: Did you think it would end up this way?Do you truly believe that the sun doesn't cast shadows?





	Fragmented Sunlight

**Author's Note:**

> Once again, this is kind of taking place within XV, mainly between Hibiki's constant dreams/fears after she got injured in episode 7 up until the point where she wakes up in episode 8.  
(Also adds briefly into ep. 9)

_“You’re not coming?”  
“Give them my regards.”_

_“Role reversal, huh?”  
“First time for everything.”_

_“Did you bother asking how she felt?!”  
“Do you suddenly know how she feels?!”_

_“The person I love is suffering because of me…”_

Why did she say that? She made another promise.  
_“We’ll talk later…”_  
Yet look what happened.  
She was so close, yet the obvious distance between them was clear.

The imaginary clock ticked within her mind.  
One.  
_“I have to get up…”_  
Two.  
_“I can’t afford—“_  
Three.

—-

“Times up!”  
A cheerful young voice broke her concentration, Hibiki looking up.  
“Hibiki!” The voice came again, her eyes soon meeting with Miku’s teal ones.

“Miku?”  
The young girl pouted, placing her hands on her hips.  
“Hibiki, you have to stop spacing out!” Miku spreads out more papers across the table. They looked like…concert posters?

“I thought you heard of them but guess not.” Miku chuckled, sitting on the opposite end of the table. Hibiki focused on them, realizing immediately who they were.

_‘Zwei Wing? But why—‘_  
“I don’t recognize them, no…” She spoke.  
Why did she say that? Of course she knew who they were now.

“I figured.” Miku said with a dramatic sigh but her smile was soft.

Hibiki noticed it before but…why was she younger?

“You know…I was thinking of going to one of their concerts…”  
The young girl said quietly.  
“I thought, maybe…if you were interested, you’d like to go with me?”

Go with her to a concert performed by people she’s never heard of? It sounded…plausible. After all, it was with Miku so that alone would be fine.

_‘But I know who it is. I know what happens. Why am I—‘_

“Sure! As long as you’re there, Miku, I’m fine with it! After what you’ve shown me, I’m excited!”  
“It’s a promise!”

Hibiki wanted to protest, scream at them about the incoming tragedy to come but…if she did that, they wouldn’t be where they are now, right?

_‘No…we wouldn’t…’_

—-

What was this?

“If I didn’t invite her, this wouldn’t have happened. If I went with her, maybe it would have been me instead. Maybe that would have been better.”

Miku, over and over, began to mumble this to herself. Her hands clung tightly to her knees, Hibiki able to see the finger marks it left on her skin.

She didn’t remember this.

“How can I even say sorry? How can I make it up to her? Why can’t I do anything? It’s my fault…surely she’ll hate me…”

_‘No, I’d never hate you!’_

But this was a dream; of course Miku wouldn’t hear her. Over and over it was pulling her further and further away, Hibiki unable to grab her hand.

_“It would have never happened…”  
‘I pulled her into this…it’s my fault too!’_

There was silence again, Hibiki being fooled by this unpredictable dream.

—-

Her hand felt warm, and so did the sun.

“You don’t have practice today?”  
“No…I quit.”  
“Eh!?” Hibiki looked at her, shock coating her entire expression. Miku pouted.

“Wh-Why do you look so surprised?”  
“Because you were great at it! And I thought you liked it! Never thought you’d quit!”

Miku was silent, glancing away but there were remnants of a smile still there.  
“…I found a new passion.”

Hibiki’s eyes felt as if they lit up at the idea, grinning from ear to ear as she leaned forward to see Miku eye to eye.  
“What is it? What is it? Tell me!” 

Miku chuckled, giving her a wink and pressing a finger to her own lips.  
“My little secret.”

_‘She never did tell me, did she?’_

Would she be given that chance again? The time to ask?

_‘But time won’t wait for me…’_

Another surge of memories.

—-

Hibiki glanced at the clock, tapping away every time the second hand moved. The words couldn’t come to her, no matter how hard she tried to focus. There was no TV, no music, no extra sounds to cloud her judgement and yet something as simple as the clock distracted her. 

With a sigh, Hibiki stood to her feet, choosing to walk towards the window. It was dark out, yet the sky was bright as ever, filled with stars.

_“Want to go see the shooting stars together?”  
“I tried recording them but it came out so dark. It was painful hiding that from you.”_

Hibiki frowned. Even after all this time, she still broke her promise. She still wanted to see the shooting stars. Next time, for sure, they’d see the shooting stars together. Hibiki grinned, reaching out towards the sky as if to grab one of them, eventually her hand covering her heart.

“Heh, I’ll surprise her!”

_‘Time won’t wait for her…’_

—-

It’s as if she was choking on air. Hibiki gripped her collar, doing everything in her power to spit out those words to activate her relic. Why wouldn’t they come out? Why was she so afraid?

“Hibiki!”

Her voice came piercing through like dagger, Hibiki’s eyes making their way to see the dark-haired girl.

“You aren’t meant to hurt anyone! I know this because of who I am. Because I fought you…and you saved me!”

_‘Yet she told me I saved her…during that fight. Yet…she was the one that saved me too.’_

“I’m where I am today because of you, and the same could be said for everyone else! So don’t be afraid!”

_‘Even back then I told her I wouldn’t let go of her hand anymore, right? But…’_

“The gentlest fist in the world.”  
Her voice broke through again, the warmth of her hand overlapping hers.  
“One day it will get rid of all the bad things in the world.”

It was silent, Hibiki unsure of what to say. It didn’t take long for her to wrap her arms around the girl, knowing this wouldn’t be enough to show her gratitude.

Lips shaking, she finally spoke.  
“Thank you…Miku you really…are my sunshine.”

Miku didn’t say anything in return but the small sigh and hug back was enough.

“You don’t have to win.”  
Her voice echoed through.  
“Just don’t lose.”

Why did her mind play these back to back?  
It was overwhelming.

It started getting messier, voices overlapping each other, echoing as if she was stuck in a never ending chamber.

_“You existing gave me the courage to stand beside people. You’ve changed me.”_

_“No matter what comes, I’ll always be here to hold your hand.”_

_“Hypothetically of course!”_

_“I’m sure it’s hard to communicate how you feel to others…”_

_“How about karaoke?”_

_“It’s your day off. What do **you** want to do?”_

When it felt as if her fists were never enough, never the true answer, Miku still believed in her. Even after how drastic their lives have been changed, she’s still here.

She’d be safe as long as she was out of harms way right? She was safe there at the dorms. Plus, Yumi and the others were there too! Miku would be safe and she wouldn’t be alone. There wasn’t a single thing to worry about!

———

“I can’t believe Elfnein-chan is taking a break with us.”  
Miku chuckled, taking a sip of her drink.

“Oh trust me, it was nearly impossible to get her to come along!”  
Hibiki lightly stabbed her fork against the empty plate, watching as Elfnein and Tsubasa at least attempted to enjoy their own food. Tsubasa has been quiet for a majority of the time, a smile not popping out yet.

“She was ready to do some more brain stuff or something.”

“Brain…stuff?”

“O-Oh, you know! With Carol-chan and everything!”

Miku watched her carefully, her eyes following Hibiki’s crazy arm movements before sighing.

“I see. She’s determined to see Carol-chan, huh?”

Hibiki didn’t answer immediately, turning her attention back to Elfnein and Tsubasa.

“Yeah…having another chance to talk to Carol-chan would be nice…”

But would she even be in the mood to talk with her? Hibiki knew asking Elfnein would only leave her confused. No way could she ever understand the alchemy talk.

She sighed, focusing back on her plate before noticing Miku’s stare.  
“Wh-What’s wrong?”

“You’d like to see Carol-chan too, right?”  
“E-Eh?”

Miku lightly pushed her drink away before putting full focus on Hibiki.

“I wasn’t there for the final battle, but it’s clear enough that you wish you had another chance to talk with her. That’s what you said, right?”

“Well…y-yeah. But…”

How would she even get that chance? They failed in saving Carol. When she finally grabbed her hand, she was already gone. Hibiki found solace that Carol saved Elfnein’s life, and the young alchemist has said that Carol is still there, just dormant.

Surely there was still hope.

“You’ve changed, Hibiki.” Miku broke through the silence, toying with the straw in her drink.

“So when you get the chance to talk to her again, you’ll be better prepared this time, right?”  
Miku gave her a small smile.

“I strongly believe you can do it.”

Hibiki stared at her, not sure how many seconds ticked by, before smiling.  
“Heh, of course!”

The young girl firmly placed her hands on the table before standing to her feet and pointing at Elfnein and Tsubasa.

“Are you all ready for the main event?!”

Both of them watched her in confusion and surprise.  
“The main event?” Tsubasa questioned.

Hibiki folded her arms, a grin forming on her lips.

“Yes, the main attraction of this little excursion. The one thing that allows us to express ourselves outside of work. And it’s more freeing too!”

“Um…reading?”  
“Nope!” Hibiki immediately cut Elfnein’s guess short, now pointing her finger to the ceiling.

“Karaoke!”  
“Karaoke?” Tsubasa repeated.

“That’s the only idea she came up with.” Miku sighed.

“N-No it isn’t! Miku and I brainstormed this together, I promise! Anyway, that’s not the point! The point is…!”

Hibiki cleared her throat, the grin still present.

“It’s time for us to express ourselves, specifically Elfnein-chan!” Her finger now pointed at the unsuspecting alchemist.

“M-Me?”  
“Yes, you!”

“She wants to see you sing.” Miku added.  
“And I do too, admittedly.”

“Maybe even a repeat for Tsubasa-san too!” Hibiki chuckled. Tsubasa didn’t say anything but Hibiki quickly moved on.

“So let’s hurry before it gets too crowded!”

——

_‘It was supposed to be fun. It was, wasn’t it? But Tsubasa-san wasn’t happy._

_And then…’_

Hibiki couldn’t afford to get hurt now. Miku needed help.

They still needed to talk.

_“She’ll leave me if I don’t go! If I can’t protect my friend, then why do I have a Symphogear?!”_

The fear has been festering. Every night was hard to sleep, knowing Miku wasn’t where she always knew her to be.

She wasn’t there for her to touch or talk to, not even a call or text.

It was dawning more and more on her that they were being pulled apart.

She’s always been there.  
She was always there once she got back.  
Her support was present even if they weren’t together.

It was always there…

_‘I was too late…’_

All that met her hand was cold air.

_“I can’t be your friend anymore, Hibiki.”_

No warmth in those eyes.  
No warmth in that expression.

Where was her smile?

_“I want you to be the one to stop me. You’re the only one I can fully give myself to.”_

Hibiki’s heart pounded against her chest, her eyes burning with the warmth her hand longed for.

“Don’t go! Don’t leave me!!”

There wasn’t anything she could do to stay afloat, gravity dragging her down just as fast as her heart had sunk.

“Miku!!”


End file.
